Multilayer ceramic electronic component

ABSTRACT

A multilayer ceramic electronic component includes: a ceramic body including dielectric layers and a plurality of internal electrodes disposed to face each other with each of the dielectric layers interposed therebetween; and external electrodes disposed on external surfaces of the ceramic body and electrically connected to the internal electrodes, respectively, wherein the external electrode includes an electrode layer electrically connected to the internal electrodes and a conductive resin layer disposed on the electrode layer, and a sum of thicknesses of the electrode layer and the conductive resin layer in a cross section of the ceramic body in the first and second directions is 12 μm or more.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims the benefit of priority to Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2018-0104704 filed on Sep. 3, 2018 in the KoreanIntellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a multilayer ceramic electroniccomponent, and more particularly, to a method of manufacturing amultilayer ceramic electronic component having excellent reliability.

BACKGROUND

Generally, electronic components using a ceramic material, such as acapacitor, an inductor, a piezoelectric element, a varistor, athermistor, and the like, include a ceramic body formed of the ceramicmaterial, internal electrodes formed in the ceramic body, and externalelectrodes installed on surfaces of the ceramic body to be connected tothe internal electrodes.

A multilayer ceramic capacitor, among multilayer ceramic electroniccomponents, includes a plurality of stacked dielectric layers, internalelectrodes disposed to face each other with each of the dielectriclayers interposed therebetween, and external electrodes electricallyconnected to the internal electrodes.

The multilayer ceramic capacitor has been widely used as components ofmobile communications devices such as a computer, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), a cellular phone, and the like, since it has a smallsize, implements high capacitance, and may be easily mounted.

Recently, in accordance with performance improvement and thinness andlightness of electrical and electronic devices, a size decrease,performance improvement, and an increase in capacitance of electroniccomponents have been demanded.

Particularly, in accordance with an increase in capacitance andminiaturization of the multilayer ceramic capacitor, technology ofsignificantly increasing capacitance per unit volume has been required.

Therefore, the high capacitance needs to be implemented by significantlydecreasing a volume of the internal electrodes while implementing anarea of the internal electrodes as much as possible to increase thenumber of stacked layers.

However, in accordance with the capacitance increase and theminiaturization of the multilayer ceramic capacitor, it has beenimportant to secure reliability, particularly, moisture proofreliability, of the multilayer ceramic capacitor.

SUMMARY

An aspect of the present disclosure may provide a multilayer ceramicelectronic component having excellent reliability, and a method ofmanufacturing the same.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a multilayer ceramicelectronic component may include: a ceramic body including dielectriclayers and a plurality of internal electrodes disposed to face eachother with each of the dielectric layers interposed therebetween, andhaving first and second surfaces opposing each other in a firstdirection, third and fourth surfaces connected to the first and secondsurfaces and opposing each other in a second direction, and fifth andsixth surfaces connected to the first to fourth surfaces and opposingeach other in a third direction; and external electrodes disposed onexternal surfaces of the ceramic body and electrically connected to theinternal electrodes, respectively, wherein the external electrodeincludes an electrode layer electrically connected to the internalelectrodes and a conductive resin layer disposed on the electrode layer,and a sum of thicknesses of the electrode layer and the conductive resinlayer in a cross section of the ceramic body in the first and seconddirections is 12 μm or more.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a multilayerceramic electronic component may include: a ceramic body includingdielectric layers and a plurality of internal electrodes disposed toface each other with each of the dielectric layers interposedtherebetween, and having first and second surfaces opposing each otherin a first direction, third and fourth surfaces connected to the firstand second surfaces and opposing each other in a second direction, andfifth and sixth surfaces connected to the first to fourth surfaces andopposing each other in a third direction; and external electrodesdisposed on external surfaces of the ceramic body and electricallyconnected to the internal electrodes, respectively, wherein the externalelectrode includes an electrode layer electrically connected to theinternal electrodes and a conductive resin layer disposed on theelectrode layer, and a sum of thicknesses of the electrode layer and theconductive resin layer in a cross section of the ceramic body in thefirst and third directions is 10 μm or more.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of the presentdisclosure will be more clearly understood from the following detaileddescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a multilayer ceramiccapacitor according to an exemplary embodiment in the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating a ceramic body according to anexemplary embodiment in the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I′ of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of region B of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II′ of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of region C of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will now bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

An exemplary embodiment in the present disclosure relates to a ceramicelectronic component, and an example of an electronic component using aceramic material may include a capacitor, an inductor, a piezoelectricelement, a varistor, a thermistor, or the like. Hereinafter, amultilayer ceramic capacitor will be described as an example of theceramic electronic component.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a multilayer ceramiccapacitor according to an exemplary embodiment in the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating a ceramic body according to anexemplary embodiment in the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I′ of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of region B of FIG. 3.

Referring to FIGS. 1 through 4, a multilayer ceramic capacitor accordingto an exemplary embodiment in the present disclosure may include aceramic body 110, internal electrodes 121 and 122 disposed in theceramic body 110, and external electrodes 131 and 132 disposed onexternal surfaces of the ceramic body 110.

In an exemplary embodiment in the present disclosure, a ‘lengthdirection’ of the multilayer ceramic capacitor refers to an ‘L’direction of FIG. 1, a ‘width direction’ of the multilayer ceramiccapacitor refers to a ‘W’ direction of FIG. 1, and a ‘thicknessdirection’ of the multilayer ceramic capacitor refers to a ‘T’ directionof FIG. 1. The ‘thickness direction’ refers to a direction in which thedielectric layers are stacked, that is, a ‘stack direction’.

A shape of the ceramic body 110 is not particularly limited, but may bea hexahedral shape according to an exemplary embodiment in the presentdisclosure.

The ceramic body 110 may have first and second surfaces S1 and S2opposing each other in a first direction, third and fourth surfaces S3and S4 connected to the first and second surfaces S1 and S2 and opposingeach other in a second direction, and fifth and sixth surfaces S5 and S6connected to the first to fourth surfaces and opposing each other in athird direction.

The first and second surfaces S1 and S2 refer to surfaces of the ceramicbody 110 opposing each other in the thickness direction, which is thefirst direction, the third and fourth surfaces S3 and S4 refer tosurfaces of the ceramic body 110 opposing each other in the lengthdirection, which is the second direction, and the fifth and sixthsurfaces S5 and S6 refer to surfaces of the ceramic body 110 opposingeach other in the width direction, which is the third direction.

One ends of a plurality of internal electrodes 121 and 122 disposed inthe ceramic body 110 may be exposed to the third surface S3 or thefourth surface S4 of the ceramic body 110.

The internal electrodes 121 and 122 may have a pair of first and secondinternal electrodes 121 and 122 having different polarities.

One ends of the first internal electrodes 121 may be exposed to thethird surface S3, and one ends of the second internal electrodes 122 maybe exposed to the fourth surface S4.

The other ends of the first internal electrodes 121 and the secondinternal electrodes 122 may be disposed to be spaced apart from thefourth surface S4 or the third surface S3 by a predetermined interval.More detailed contents for this will be described below.

First and second external electrodes 131 and 132 may be disposed on thethird and fourth surfaces S3 and S4 of the ceramic body 110,respectively, and may be electrically connected to the internalelectrodes.

A thickness of each of the internal electrodes 121 and 122 is notparticularly limited, and may be, for example, 0.4 μm or less.

According to an exemplary embodiment in the present disclosure, thenumber of dielectric layers on which the internal electrodes aredisposed may be 200 or more.

According to an exemplary embodiment in the present disclosure, theceramic body 110 may be formed by stacking a plurality of dielectriclayers 111.

The plurality of dielectric layers 111 forming the ceramic body 110 maybe in a sintered state, and adjacent dielectric layers may be integratedwith each other so that boundaries therebetween are not readilyapparent.

The dielectric layer 111 may be formed by sintering a ceramic greensheet including ceramic powders.

The ceramic powder is not particularly limited, and may be any ceramicpowder that is generally used in the related art.

The ceramic powder may include, for example, a BaTiO₃-based ceramicpowder, but is not limited thereto.

An example of the BaTiO₃-based ceramic powder may include(Ba_(1-x)Ca_(x))TiO₃, Ba(Ti_(1-y)Ca_(y))O₃, (Ba_(1-x)Ca_(x))(Ti_(1-y)Zr_(y))O₃, Ba(Ti_(1-y)Zr_(y))O₃, or the like, in which Ca, Zr,or the like, is partially solid-solved in BaTiO₃, but is not limitedthereto.

In addition, the ceramic green sheet may include a transition metal,rare earth elements, magnesium (Mg), aluminum (Al), or the like,together with the ceramic powders.

A thickness of one dielectric layer 111 may be appropriately changed inaccordance with a capacitance design of the multilayer ceramiccapacitor.

A thickness of the dielectric layer 111 disposed between two adjacentinternal electrode layers after being sintered may be, for example, 0.4μm or less, but is not limited thereto.

According to an exemplary embodiment in the present disclosure, thethickness of the dielectric layers 111 refers to an average thickness.

The average thickness of the dielectric layers 111 may be measured by animage, captured by a scanning electron microscope (SEM), of a crosssection of the ceramic body 110 in the length direction, as illustratedin FIG. 2.

For example, with respect to any dielectric layer extracted from animage, captured by the scanning electron microscope (SEM), of a crosssection of the ceramic body 110 cut in a length and thickness L-Tdirection at a central portion of the ceramic body 110 in the width Wdirection as illustrated in FIG. 2, thicknesses of the dielectric layermay be measured at thirty points arranged at equal intervals in thelength direction to measure an average value thereof.

The thirty points arranged at equal intervals may be measured in acapacitance forming portion that refers to a region in which theinternal electrodes 121 and 122 overlap each other.

In addition, when an average thickness of ten or more dielectric layersis measured, the average thickness of the dielectric layers may furtherbe generalized.

The ceramic body 110 may include an active portion A contributing toforming capacitance of the multilayer ceramic capacitor, and upper andlower cover portions C1 and C2 disposed as upper and lower marginportions on upper and lower surfaces of the active portion A,respectively.

The active portion A may be formed by repeatedly stacking a plurality offirst and second internal electrodes 121 and 122 with each of thedielectric layers 111 interposed therebetween.

The upper and lower cover portions C1 and C2 may be formed of the samematerial as that of the dielectric layer 111 and have the sameconfiguration as that of the dielectric layer 111 except that they donot include the internal electrodes.

That is, the upper and lower cover portions C1 and C2 may include aceramic material such as a barium titanate (BaTiO₃)-based ceramicmaterial.

The upper and lower cover portions C1 and C2 may be formed by stacking asingle dielectric layer or two or more dielectric layers on the upperand lower surfaces of the active portion A, respectively, in a verticaldirection, and may basically serve to prevent damage to the internalelectrodes due to physical or chemical stress.

Each of the upper and lower cover portions C1 and C2 may have athickness of 20 μm or less, but is not necessarily limited thereto.

Recently, in accordance with performance improvement and thinness andlightness of electrical and electronic devices, a size decrease,performance improvement, and an increase in capacitance of electroniccomponents have been demanded. Therefore, the thicknesses of the upperand lower cover portions disposed in the ceramic body as described abovehave been decreased.

As in an exemplary embodiment in the present disclosure, when each ofthe upper and lower cover portions C1 and C2 has the thickness of 20 μmor less, the thickness of each of the upper and lower cover portions maybe small, such that external moisture and a plating solution may easilypermeate into the ceramic body. Therefore, it is likely that a moistureproof reliability defect of the multilayer layer capacitor will occur.

In order to solve such a problem, according to an exemplary embodimentin the present disclosure, the moisture proof reliability of themultilayer layer capacitor may be improved by controlling the sum ofthicknesses of electrode layers and conductive resin layers in a crosssection of the ceramic body in a length-thickness direction and a crosssection of the ceramic body in a width-thickness direction.

That is, in an exemplary embodiment in the present disclosure, asubminiature and high-capacitance multilayer ceramic capacitor, wheneach of the upper and lower cover portions C1 and C2 has the smallthickness of 20 μm or less, the sum of thicknesses of an electrode layerand a conductive resin layer included in the external electrode may becontrolled in order to improve the moisture proof reliability.

Therefore, in a multilayer ceramic capacitor according to the relatedart in which a thickness of each of the upper and lower cover portionsC1 and C2 exceeds 20 μm, even though the sum of the thicknesses of theelectrode layer and the conductive resin layer in the cross section ofthe ceramic body in the length-thickness direction and the cross sectionof the ceramic body in the width-thickness direction are not controlledunlike an exemplary embodiment in the present disclosure, the moistureproof reliability is not problematic.

A material of each of the first and second internal electrodes 121 and122 is not particularly limited, but may be a conductive paste includingone or more of silver (Ag), lead (Pb), platinum (Pt), nickel (Ni), andcopper (Cu).

The multilayer ceramic capacitor according to an exemplary embodiment inthe present disclosure may include the first external electrode 131electrically connected to the first internal electrodes 121 and thesecond external electrode 132 electrically connected to the secondinternal electrodes 122.

The first and second external electrodes 131 and 132 may be electricallyconnected to the first and second internal electrodes 121 and 122,respectively, in order to form capacitance, and the second externalelectrode 132 may be connected to a potential different to a potentialto which the first external electrode 131 is connected.

The first and second external electrodes 131 and 132 may be disposed,respectively, on the third and fourth surfaces S3 and S4 of the ceramicbody 110 in the length direction, which is the second direction, and mayextend to the first and second surfaces S1 and S2 of the ceramic body110 in the thickness direction, which is the first direction.

The external electrodes 131 and 132 may including, respectively,electrode layers 131 a and 132 a disposed on the external surfaces ofthe ceramic body 110 and electrically connected to the internalelectrodes 121 and 122, respectively, conductive resin layers 131 b and132 b disposed on the electrode layers 131 a and 132 a, respectively,and plating layers 131 c and 131 d, and 132 c and 132 d disposed on theconductive resin layers 131 b and 132 b, respectively.

The external electrodes 131 and 132 may include the first externalelectrode 131 and the second external electrode 132 disposed on onesurface and the other surface of the ceramic body 110, respectively.

The electrode layers 131 a and 132 a may include a conductive metal anda glass.

The conductive metal used in the electrode layers 131 a and 132 a may beany material that may be electrically connected to the internalelectrodes in order to form the capacitance, for example, one or moreselected from the group consisting of copper (Cu), silver (Ag), nickel(Ni), and alloys thereof.

The electrode layers 131 a and 132 a may be formed by applying and thensintering a conductive paste prepared by adding glass frit to conductivemetal powders.

That is, each of the electrode layers 131 a and 132 a may be a sinteringtype electrode formed by sintering the paste including the conductivemetal.

The conductive metal included in the electrode layers 131 a and 132 amay be electrically conducted to the first and second internalelectrodes 121 and 122 to implement electrical characteristics.

The glass included in the electrode layers 131 a and 132 a may serve asa sealing material blocking external moisture together with theconductive metal.

The first external electrode 131 may include a first electrode layer 131a disposed on one surface of the ceramic body 110 in the lengthdirection L, which is the second direction, and electrically connectedto the first internal electrodes 121, a first conductive resin layer 131b disposed on the first electrode layer 131 a, and first plating layers131 c and 131 d disposed on the first conductive resin layer 131 b.

In addition, the second external electrode 132 may include a secondelectrode layer 132 a disposed on the other surface of the ceramic body110 in the length direction L, which is the second direction, andelectrically connected to the second internal electrodes 122, a secondconductive resin layer 132 b disposed on the second electrode layer 132a, and second plating layers 132 c and 132 d disposed on the secondconductive resin layer 132 b.

The electrode layers 131 a and 132 a may be disposed on opposite endsurfaces of the ceramic body 110 in the length direction, respectively,and extend to portions of the first and second surfaces S1 and S2, whichare upper and lower surfaces of the ceramic body 110.

In addition, the conductive resin layers 131 b and 132 b may be disposedon the electrode layers 131 a and 132 a, respectively, and the platinglayers 131 c and 131 d, and 132 c and 132 d may be disposed on theconductive resin layers 131 b and 132 b, respectively.

The conductive resin layers 131 b and 132 b and the plating layers 131c, 131 d, 132 c, and 132 d may extend to portions of the first andsecond surfaces S1 and S2, which are the upper and lower surfaces of theceramic body 110.

The electrode layers 131 a and 132 a may be formed of the sameconductive metal as that of the first and second internal electrodes 121and 122, but are not limited thereto. For example, the electrode layers131 a and 132 a may be formed of copper (Cu), silver (Ag), nickel (Ni),or alloys thereof.

The conductive resin layers 131 b and 132 b may be disposed on theelectrode layers 131 a and 132 a, respectively, and may be disposed tocompletely cover the electrode layers 131 a and 132 a, respectively.

A base resin included in each of the conductive resin layers 131 b and132 b may have a bonding property and a shock absorbing property, may beany resin that may be mixed with conductive metal powders to form apaste, and may include, for example, an epoxy-based resin.

A conductive metal included in each of the conductive resin layers 131 band 132 b may be any material that may be electrically connected to theelectrode layers 131 a and 132 a, and may include, for example, one ormore selected from the group consisting of copper (Cu), silver (Ag),nickel (Ni), and alloys thereof.

The plating layers 131 c, 131 d, 132 c, and 132 d may include nickelplating layers 131 c and 132 c and tin plating layers 131 d and 132 deach disposed on the nickel plating layers 131 c and 132 c, but arelimited thereto.

According to an exemplary embodiment in the present disclosure, the sumT_(L) of thicknesses of each of the electrode layers 131 a and 132 a andeach of the conductive resin layers 131 b and 132 b in a cross sectionof the ceramic body 110 in the first and second directions may be 12 μmor more.

The first direction of the ceramic body 110 refers to the thicknessdirection of the ceramic body 110, the second direction of the ceramicbody 110 refers to the length direction of the ceramic body 110, and thecross section of the ceramic body 110 in the first and second directionsrefers to a cross section of the ceramic body 110 in thelength-thickness direction.

The sum T_(L) of the thicknesses of each of the electrode layers 131 aand 132 a and each of the conductive resin layers 131 b and 132 b in thecross section of the ceramic body 110 in the first and second directionsmay be controlled to be 12 μm or more to improve the moisture proofreliability of the multilayer ceramic electronic component.

That is, in order to prevent a decrease in the moisture proofreliability of the multilayer ceramic electronic component, the sumT_(L) of the thicknesses of each of the electrode layers 131 a and 132 aand each of the conductive resin layers 131 b and 132 b in the crosssection of the ceramic body 110 in the first and second directions needsto be at least 12 μm or more.

Particularly, in a product in which the dielectric layer and theinternal electrodes formed of thin films are used, such as a product inwhich a thickness of the dielectric layer 111 after being sintered is0.4 μm or less and a thickness of each of the first and second internalelectrodes 121 and 122 after being sintered is 0.4 μm or less, adecrease in the moisture proof reliability may be problematic.

Therefore, when the thickness of the dielectric layer 111 is 0.4 μm orless and the thickness of each of the first and second internalelectrodes 121 and 122 is 0.4 μm or less, the sum T_(L) of thethicknesses of each of the electrode layers 131 a and 132 a and each ofthe conductive resin layers 131 b and 132 b in the cross section of theceramic body 110 in the first and second directions needs to becontrolled to be 12 μm or more as in an exemplary embodiment in thepresent disclosure, in order to prevent the decrease in the moistureproof reliability.

When the sum T_(L) of the thicknesses of each of the electrode layers131 a and 132 a and each of the conductive resin layers 131 b and 132 bin the cross section of the ceramic body 110 in the first and seconddirections is less than 12 μm, the moisture proof reliability of themultilayer ceramic electronic component may be decreased.

Particularly, in a case in which the thickness of the dielectric layer111 is 0.4 μm or less and the thickness of each of the first and secondinternal electrodes 121 and 122 is 0.4 μm or less, when the sum T_(L) ofthe thicknesses of each of the electrode layers 131 a and 132 a and eachof the conductive resin layers 131 b and 132 b in the cross section ofthe ceramic body 110 in the first and second directions is less than 12μm, the moisture proof reliability of the multilayer ceramic electroniccomponent may be decreased.

However, the thin films do not mean that the thicknesses of thedielectric layer 111 and the first and second internal electrodes 121and 122 are 0.4 μm or less, but may conceptually include that thethicknesses of the dielectric layer and the internal electrodes aresmaller than those of the multilayer ceramic capacitor according to therelated art.

According to an exemplary embodiment in the present disclosure, athickness t_(s) of each of the conductive resin layers 131 b and 132 bmay be 2 μm or more.

When the thickness t_(s) of each of the conductive resin layers 131 band 132 b is less than 2 μm, the thickness of each of the conductiveresin layers 131 b and 132 b absorbing tensile stress generated in amechanical or thermal environment to prevent occurrence of a crack maybe small, such that a decrease in reliability such as warpage, a crack,or the like, may occur.

Meanwhile, each of the conductive resin layers 131 b and 132 b needs tosecure a minimum thickness of 2 μm or more, but when the thickness ofeach of the conductive resin layers 131 b and 132 b is excessivelygreat, a moisture permeability rate of a material itself such as thebase resin included in each of the conductive resin layers 131 b and 132b may be significantly high, such that a moisture proof defect mayoccur. Therefore, an upper limit value of the thickness of each of theconductive resin layers 131 b and 132 b may be determined at a levelthat prevents the decrease in the moisture proof reliability.

Meanwhile, as the sum T_(L) of the thicknesses of each of the electrodelayers 131 a and 132 a and each of the conductive resin layers 131 b and132 b in the cross section of the ceramic body 110 in the first andsecond directions is increased from a value of 12 μm or more, themoisture proof reliability of the multilayer ceramic electroniccomponent may be improved, but there may be limitation values in thethicknesses of each of the electrode layers 131 a and 132 a and each ofthe conductive resin layers 131 b and 132 b for implementing asubminiature and high-capacitance multilayer ceramic electroniccomponent. Therefore, separate upper limit values of the thicknesses ofeach of the electrode layers 131 a and 132 a and each of the conductiveresin layers 131 b and 132 b are not limited herein.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II′ of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of region C of FIG. 5.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, in the multilayer ceramic electroniccomponent 100 according to an exemplary embodiment in the presentdisclosure, in addition to the feature described above, the sum T_(W) ofthicknesses of each of the electrode layers 131 a and 132 a and each ofthe conductive resin layers 131 b and 132 b in a cross section of theceramic body 110 in the first and third directions may be 10 μm.

The first direction of the ceramic body 110 refers to the thicknessdirection of the ceramic body 110, the third direction of the ceramicbody 110 refers to the width direction of the ceramic body 110, and thecross section of the ceramic body 110 in the first and third directionsrefers to a cross section of the ceramic body 110 in the width-thicknessdirection.

The sum T_(W) of the thicknesses of each of the electrode layers 131 aand 132 a and each of the conductive resin layers 131 b and 132 b in thecross section of the ceramic body 110 in the first and third directionsmay be controlled to be 10 μm or more to improve the moisture proofreliability of the multilayer ceramic electronic component.

That is, in order to prevent a decrease in the moisture proofreliability of the multilayer ceramic electronic component, the sumT_(W) of the thicknesses of each of the electrode layers 131 a and 132 aand each of the conductive resin layers 131 b and 132 b in the crosssection of the ceramic body 110 in the first and third directions needsto be at least 10 μm or more.

Particularly, in the product in which the dielectric layer and theinternal electrodes formed of the thin films are used, such as theproduct in which a thickness of the dielectric layer 111 after beingsintered is 0.4 μm or less and a thickness of each of the first andsecond internal electrodes 121 and 122 after being sintered is 0.4 μm orless, a decrease in the moisture proof reliability may be problematic.

Therefore, when the thickness of the dielectric layer 111 is 0.4 μm orless and the thickness of each of the first and second internalelectrodes 121 and 122 is 0.4 μm or less, the sum T_(W) of thethicknesses of each of the electrode layers 131 a and 132 a and each ofthe conductive resin layers 131 b and 132 b in the cross section of theceramic body 110 in the first and third directions needs to becontrolled to be 10 μm or more as in an exemplary embodiment in thepresent disclosure, in order to prevent the decrease in the moistureproof reliability.

When the sum T_(W) of the thicknesses of each of the electrode layers131 a and 132 a and each of the conductive resin layers 131 b and 132 bin the cross section of the ceramic body 110 in the first and thirddirections is less than 10 μm, the moisture proof reliability of themultilayer ceramic electronic component may be decreased.

Particularly, in a case in which the thickness of the dielectric layer111 is 0.4 μm or less and the thickness of each of the first and secondinternal electrodes 121 and 122 is 0.4 μm or less, when the sum T_(W) ofthe thicknesses of each of the electrode layers 131 a and 132 a and eachof the conductive resin layers 131 b and 132 b in the cross section ofthe ceramic body 110 in the first and third directions is less than 10μm, the moisture proof reliability of the multilayer ceramic electroniccomponent may be decreased.

Meanwhile, as the sum of the thicknesses of each of the electrode layers131 a and 132 a and each of the conductive resin layers 131 b and 132 bin the cross section of the ceramic body 110 in the first and thirddirections is increased from a value of 10 μm or more, the moistureproof reliability of the multilayer ceramic electronic component may beimproved, but there may be limitation values in the thicknesses of eachof the electrode layers 131 a and 132 a and each of the conductive resinlayers 131 b and 132 b for implementing a subminiature andhigh-capacitance multilayer ceramic electronic component. Therefore,separate upper limit values of the thicknesses of each of the electrodelayers 131 a and 132 a and each of the conductive resin layers 131 b and132 b are not limited herein.

According to an exemplary embodiment in the present disclosure, in theproduct in which the dielectric layer and the internal electrodes formedof the thin films are used, such as the product in which the thicknessof the dielectric layer 111 after being sintered is 0.4 μm or less andthe thickness of each of the first and second internal electrodes 121and 122 after being sintered is 0.4 μm or less, the sum T, of thethicknesses of each of the electrode layers 131 a and 132 a and each ofthe conductive resin layers 131 b and 132 b in the cross section of theceramic body 110 in the first and second directions may be 12 μm or moreand the sum T_(W) of the thicknesses of each of the electrode layers 131a and 132 a and each of the conductive resin layers 131 b and 132 b inthe cross section of the ceramic body 110 in the first and thirddirections may be 10 μm or more, in order to improve the moisture proofreliability.

That is, when the sum T_(L) of the thicknesses of each of the electrodelayers 131 a and 132 a and each of the conductive resin layers 131 b and132 b in the cross section of the ceramic body 110 in the first andsecond directions is 12 μm or more and the sum T_(W) of the thicknessesof each of the electrode layers 131 a and 132 a and each of theconductive resin layers 131 b and 132 b in the cross section of theceramic body 110 in the first and third directions is 10 μm or more, amoisture permeability rate may be decreased, such that the moistureproof reliability may be improved.

That is, when any one of the sum T_(L) of the thicknesses of each of theelectrode layers 131 a and 132 a and each of the conductive resin layers131 b and 132 b in the cross section of the ceramic body 110 in thefirst and second directions and the sum T_(W) of the thicknesses of eachof the electrode layers 131 a and 132 a and each of the conductive resinlayers 131 b and 132 b in the cross section of the ceramic body 110 inthe first and third directions is out of a numeral range of the presentdisclosure, the moisture proof reliability may be decreased.

A method of manufacturing a multilayer ceramic capacitor according to anexemplary embodiment in the present disclosure will hereinafter bedescribed.

According to an exemplary embodiment in the present disclosure, aplurality of ceramic green sheets may be prepared.

The ceramic green sheet may be manufactured by mixing ceramic powders, abinder, a solvent, and the like, with one another to prepare slurry andmanufacturing the slurry in a sheet shape having a thickness of severalmicrometers by a doctor blade method. Then, the ceramic green sheet maybe sintered to form one dielectric layer 111 as illustrated in FIG. 2.

A thickness of the ceramic green sheet may be 0.6 μm or less. Therefore,a thickness of the dielectric layer after being sintered may be 0.4 μmor less.

Then, a conductive paste for an internal electrode may be applied to theceramic green sheets to form internal electrode patterns. The internalelectrode patterns may be formed by a screen printing method or agravure printing method.

The conductive paste for an internal electrode may include a conductivemetal and an additive. The additive may be one or more of a non-metal ora metal oxide.

The conductive metal may include nickel. The additive may include bariumtitanate or strontium titanate as the metal oxide.

A thickness of the internal electrode pattern may be 0.5 μm or less.Therefore, a thickness of the internal electrode after being sinteredmay be 0.4 μm or less.

Then, the ceramic green sheets on which the internal electrode patternsare disposed may be stacked and pressed in the stack direction.Therefore, a ceramic laminate in which the internal electrode patternsare formed may be manufactured.

Then, the ceramic laminate may be cut per region corresponding to onecapacitor to be manufactured in a chip form.

In this case, the ceramic laminate may be cut so that one ends of theinternal electrode patterns are alternately exposed through endsurfaces.

Then, the laminate manufactured in the chip form may be sintered tomanufacture the ceramic body.

The sintering process may be performed in a reducing atmosphere. Inaddition, the sintering process may be performed while controlling atemperature raising speed. The temperature raising speed may be 30°C./60 s to 50° C./60 s at 700° C. or less.

Then, the external electrodes covering the end surfaces of the ceramicbody and electrically connected to the internal electrodes exposed tothe end surfaces of the ceramic body may be formed. Then, plating layersformed of nickel, tin, or the like, may be disposed on surfaces of theexternal electrodes.

Hereinafter, the present disclosure will be described in detail withreference to Inventive Example and Comparative Example.

Multilayer ceramic capacitors according to Inventive Examples andmultilayer ceramic capacitors according to Comparative Examples wereprepared by the following method.

Barium titanate powders, ethanol as an organic solvent, and polyvinylbutyral as a binder were mixed with one another and were ball-milled toprepare slurry. Then, a ceramic green sheet was manufactured using theslurry.

A conductive paste for an internal electrode containing nickel wasprinted on the ceramic green sheets to form the internal electrodes, anda green laminate formed by stacking the ceramic green sheets wasisostatically pressed at 85° C. and at a pressure of 1,000 kgf/cm².

The pressed green laminate was cut to manufacture a green chip, ade-binder process in which the cut green ship is maintained at 230° C.under an atmospheric condition for 60 hours was performed, and the greenchip was sintered at 1000° C. to manufacture a sintered chip. Thesintering was performed in a reducing atmosphere to prevent oxidation ofthe internal electrodes, and the reducing atmosphere was 10⁻¹¹ to 10⁻¹⁰atm lower than Ni/NiO equilibrium oxygen partial pressure.

Electrode layers were disposed on external surfaces of the sintered chipusing a paste for an external electrode including copper powders andglass powders, conductive resin layers were formed on the electrodelayers using a conductive paste including copper powders and an epoxyresin, and nickel plating layers and tin plating layers were disposed onthe conductive resin layers through electroplating.

A multilayer ceramic capacitor having a 0603 size was manufactured bythe abovementioned method. The 0603 size may have a length and a widthof 0.6 μm±0.1 μm and 0.3 μm±0.1 μm, respectively. Features of themultilayer ceramic capacitor were evaluated as follows.

Table 1 illustrates measurement results of moisture permeability ratesdepending on the sums T_(L) and T_(W) of the thicknesses of each of theelectrode layers 131 a and 132 a and each of the conductive resin layers131 b and 132 b according to Comparative Examples and InventiveExamples.

Measurement of the moisture permeability rates was performed at eachthickness on four hundred samples with respect to each of ComparativeExamples and Inventive Examples.

TABLE 1 Sum TL (μm) of Thicknesses of Sum TW (μm) of Electrode Layer andThicknesses of Conductive Resin Electrode Layer and Number of Layer inLength Conductive Resin Layer Reliability Direction in Width DirectionDefects  1* 7 6 15/400   2* 7 10 12/400   3* 7 12 13/400   4* 10 6 4/400 5* 10 10 1/400  6* 10 12 1/400  7* 12 6 2/400  8 12 10 0/400  9 12 120/400 10* 17 6 1/400 11 17 10 0/400 12 17 12 0/400 13* 22 6 1/400 14 2210 0/400 15 22 12 0/400 *Comparative Example

It may be seen from Table 1 that in Samples 1 to 6, which areComparative Examples in which the sums T_(L) of the thicknesses of eachof the electrode layers 131 a and 132 a and each of the conductive resinlayers 131 b and 132 b in the cross section of the ceramic body 110 inthe first and second directions are less than 12 μm, a moisture proofreliability defect occurs regardless of the sums T_(W) of thethicknesses of each of the electrode layers 131 a and 132 a and each ofthe conductive resin layers 131 b and 132 b in the cross section of theceramic body 110 in the first and third directions.

In addition, it may be seen that in Sample 7, which is a ComparativeExample in which the sum T_(L) of the thicknesses of each of theelectrode layers 131 a and 132 a and each of the conductive resin layers131 b and 132 b in the cross section of the ceramic body 110 in thefirst and second directions is 12 μm or more, but the sum T_(W) of thethicknesses of each of the electrode layers 131 a and 132 a and each ofthe conductive resin layers 131 b and 132 b in the cross section of theceramic body 110 in the first and third directions is less than 10 μm,there is a problem in the moisture proof reliability.

On the other hand, it may be seen that in Samples 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, and15, which are Inventive Examples in which the sums T_(L) of thethicknesses of each of the electrode layers 131 a and 132 a and each ofthe conductive resin layers 131 b and 132 b in the cross section of theceramic body 110 in the first and second directions and the sums T_(W)of the thicknesses of each of the electrode layers 131 a and 132 a andeach of the conductive resin layers 131 b and 132 b in the cross sectionof the ceramic body 110 in the first and third directions are in anumerical range of the present disclosure, a high-capacitance multilayerceramic capacitor having excellent moisture proof reliability may beimplemented.

Meanwhile, it may be seen that in Samples 10 and 13, which areComparative Examples in which the sums T_(L) of the thicknesses of eachof the electrode layers 131 a and 132 a and each of the conductive resinlayers 131 b and 132 b in the cross section of the ceramic body 110 inthe first and second directions are 17 μm and 22 μm, which are 12 μm ormore, but the sums T_(W) of the thicknesses of each of the electrodelayers 131 a and 132 a and each of the conductive resin layers 131 b and132 b in the cross section of the ceramic body 110 in the first andthird directions are less than 10 μm, there is a problem in the moistureproof reliability.

As set forth above, according to an exemplary embodiment in the presentdisclosure, a thickness of a sintered electrode layer including theconductive metal and the glass in the external electrode may becontrolled to improve moisture proof characteristics, resulting inimprovement of reliability of the multilayer ceramic electroniccomponent.

While exemplary embodiments have been shown and described above, it willbe apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications andvariations could be made without departing from the scope of the presentinvention as defined by the appended claims.

1. A multilayer ceramic electronic component comprising: a ceramic body including dielectric layers and a plurality of internal electrodes disposed to face each other with each of the dielectric layers interposed therebetween, and having first and second surfaces opposing each other in a first stacking direction of the dielectric layers and internal electrodes, third and fourth surfaces opposing each other in a second direction and connected to the first and second surfaces, and fifth and sixth surfaces opposing each other in a third direction and connected to the first to fourth surfaces; and external electrodes disposed to integrally cover the third and fourth surfaces of the ceramic body, disposed to extend to the fifth and sixth surfaces of the ceramic body, and electrically connected to the plurality of internal electrodes, respectively, wherein each of the external electrodes includes an electrode layer electrically connected to the internal electrodes and extending to the fifth and sixth surfaces of the ceramic body and a conductive resin layer disposed on the electrode layer, a sum of median thicknesses of the electrode layer and the conductive resin layer on the third or fourth surface of the ceramic body in a cross section of the ceramic body in the first and second directions is 12 μm or more, and a sum of thicknesses of the electrode layer and the conductive resin layer on the fifth or sixth surface of the ceramic body in a cross section of the ceramic body in the first and third directions is smaller than the sum of median thicknesses of the electrode layer and the conductive resin layer on the third or fourth surface of the ceramic body in the cross section of the ceramic body in the first and second directions.
 2. The multilayer ceramic electronic component of claim 1, wherein the sum of thicknesses of the electrode layer and the conductive resin layer on the fifth or sixth surface of the ceramic body in the cross section of the ceramic body in the first and third directions is 10 μm or more.
 3. The multilayer ceramic electronic component of claim 1, wherein the thickness of the conductive resin layer is 2 μm or more.
 4. The multilayer ceramic electronic component of claim 1, wherein a thickness of each dielectric layer is 0.4 μm or less, and a thickness of each internal electrode is 0.4 μm or less.
 5. The multilayer ceramic electronic component of claim 1, wherein the ceramic body includes an active portion in which capacitance is formed by including the plurality of internal electrodes, and cover portions disposed on upper and lower surfaces of the active portion, respectively, and a thickness of each of the cover portions is 20 μm or less.
 6. The multilayer ceramic electronic component of claim 1, wherein a plating layer is disposed on the conductive resin layer.
 7. The multilayer ceramic electronic component of claim 6, wherein the plating layer comprises at least one tin plating layer.
 8. The multilayer ceramic electronic component of claim 7, wherein the plating layer further comprises at least one nickel plating layer.
 9. The multilayer ceramic electronic component of claim 8, wherein the at least one tin plating layer is disposed on the at least one nickel plating layer.
 10. A multilayer ceramic electronic component comprising: a ceramic body including dielectric layers and a plurality of internal electrodes disposed to face each other with each of the dielectric layers interposed therebetween, and having first and second surfaces opposing each other in a first stacking direction of the dielectric layers and internal electrodes, third and fourth surfaces opposing each other in a second direction and connected to the first and second surfaces, and fifth and sixth surfaces opposing each other in a third direction and connected to the first to fourth surfaces; and external electrodes disposed to integrally cover the third and fourth surfaces of the ceramic body, disposed to extend to the fifth and sixth surfaces of the ceramic body, and electrically connected to the plurality of internal electrodes, respectively, wherein each of the external electrode includes an electrode layer electrically connected to the internal electrodes and extending to the fifth and sixth surfaces of the ceramic body and a conductive resin layer disposed on the electrode layer, a sum of thicknesses of the electrode layer and the conductive resin layer on the fifth or sixth surface of the ceramic body in a cross section of the ceramic body in the first and third directions is 10 μm or more, and a sum of median thicknesses of the electrode layer and the conductive resin layer on the third or fourth surface of the ceramic body in a cross section of the ceramic body in the first and second directions is greater than the sum of thicknesses of the electrode layer and the conductive resin layer on the fifth or sixth surface of the ceramic body in the cross section of the ceramic body in the first and third directions.
 11. The multilayer ceramic electronic component of claim 10, wherein the sum of thicknesses of the electrode layer and the conductive resin layer on the third or fourth surface of the ceramic body in the cross section of the ceramic body in the first and second directions is 12 μm or more.
 12. The multilayer ceramic electronic component of claim 10, wherein the thickness of the conductive resin layer is 2 μm or more.
 13. The multilayer ceramic electronic component of claim 10, wherein a thickness of each dielectric layer is 0.4 μm or less, and a thickness of each internal electrode is 0.4 μm or less.
 14. The multilayer ceramic electronic component of claim 10, wherein the ceramic body includes an active portion in which capacitance is formed by including the plurality of internal electrodes, and cover portions disposed on upper and lower surfaces of the active portion, respectively, and a thickness of each of the cover portions is 20 μm or less.
 15. The multilayer ceramic electronic component of claim 10, wherein a plating layer is disposed on the conductive resin layer.
 16. The multilayer ceramic electronic component of claim 15, wherein the plating layer comprises at least one tin plating layer.
 17. The multilayer ceramic electronic component of claim 16, wherein the plating layer further comprises at least one nickel plating layer.
 18. The multilayer ceramic electronic component of claim 17, wherein the at least one tin plating layer is disposed on the at least one nickel plating layer. 